There will not be a ninth season of “S.W.A.T.,” the CBS police procedural starring “The Young and the Restless” alum Shemar Moore (ex-Malcolm Winters) who played Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, a former Marine and locally born and raised S.W.A.T. sergeant tasked to run a specialized tactical unit that is the last stop in law enforcement in Los Angeles.
A new take on the 1975 series of the same name and the popular 2003 feature film, with the new iteration debuting in the fall of 2017 as part of CBS’ Thursday night lineup, “S.W.A.T.” was famously saved from cancellation after Moore stood up for his cast and crew, noting at the time, “Its all about money, y’all. They said we’re canceled, but guess what I don’t think we’re done.” He also stated at the time, “CBS is either gonna wake up and realize they made a mistake. Sony is gonna do their math and realize that this is not the right move. I hope we can have a kumbaya and come back together and continue this show because it’s a good time for families across the world.”
Moore’s comments came on May 6, 2023, one day after the series was abruptly canceled after six seasons, only for the network to come around and order an abbreviated seventh and final season a few days later. Ultimately, the series received another reprieve in May 2024 when the network ordered an eighth season.
This time, however, there will not be a last-minute save, as all parties are said to have agreed that the show will end with Season 8.
Airing its first two seasons on Thursdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, “S.W.A.T.” was later moved to Wednesday nights for seasons three and four, also airing in the same timeslot.
After a brief run airing in an earlier slot on Friday nights at the beginning of Season 5, the show was again moved to Sunday nights for the remainder of that season. By Season 6, the show had landed a more permanent slot on Friday nights at 8:00 p.m, where it had remained for the bulk of its latter seasons, including the unexpected seventh and now final eighth season.
“It’s heartbreaking news, primarily because it’s been such an immense pleasure working with this cast and crew to put out a show that we’ve always been proud of,” said the show’s executive producer and showrunner Andrew Dettmann. “They are truly an extraordinary group of people who have all worked so hard and have been so dedicated for all these eight seasons, overcoming countless challenges. I can’t give them enough credit. I feel so privileged to have been a part of the ‘S.W.A.T.’ family.”
“It’s been an extraordinary privilege to work on S.W.A.T. for eight seasons and tell the stories of Hondo and 20-Squad,” stated executive producer and former showrunner Shawn Ryan. “I thank our fans, Shemar Moore, the rest of our cast, our producers, Sony Pictures Television, CBS Studios and CBS for the opportunity. Most of all I want to thank our tireless, dedicated crew who made our writers, directors and cast always look good. My greatest concern right now is for them.”
A steady performer for CBS, “S.W.A.T.” was one of the rare primetime shows to see improved ratings, with both seasons five and six improving over the performance of Season 4, as well as the latter season improving in the season-to-date ranks over the performance of the former season. Season 7 was also an improvement in the season-to-date rankings, where the show placed 27th on the list of the most-watched shows in primetime, despite airing just 13 episodes for what was then an abbreviated seventh and final season.
In addition to Moore, the series also starred Jay Harrington as David “Deacon” Kay, David Lim as Victor Tan, Patrick St. Esprit as Commander Robert Hicks, Anna Enger Ritch as Zoe Powell and Niko Pepaj as Miguel “Miko” Alfaro.
Produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with CBS Studios, executive producers include Shawn Ryan, Andrew Dettmann, Justin Lin, Neal H. Moritz, Marney Hochman, Pavun Shetty, Billy Gierhart, Shemar Moore, James Scura, Sarah Alderson and Kent Rotherham.